Sep. 4, 2017
07:23 am JST

Sep. 4, 2017
07:42 am JST

How many times America conducted nuclear bomb tests and ballistic missile tests in the past? They conducted often in the Pacific Ocean and Japan protested each time to no avail.

Don't put NKorea into the same category as the United States, or for that matter, other nuclear states. Other nations do not constantly talk about firing a nuclear missile at another country. NKorea is obviously the little guy in the room that nobody wants to have a gun.

Sep. 4, 2017
07:54 am JST

Both China and Russia protected N. Korea for decades but now they take no responsibility for the end product. Russia / Soviet Union ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while China acceded to it. Again... they also believe the spread of Nuclear weapons is not in the best interest of the World in general but they did nothing while NK continued to blatantly develop these weapons. Now when its starting to hit the fan... they take Zero responsibility. Think about that people.... and they also do not want Japan to put up anti-missile defense systems. If this is the case... then both China and Russia need to sign a Non-Retaliatory Treaty with those that want NK disarmed. We then amass troops along the DMZ to counter the NK threat to SK and attack... making it a conventional war. This should not stand.

Sep. 4, 2017
08:03 am JST

OssanAmerica

Your comment sounds hypocritical to me. North Korea is threatening or warning about the uses of the nukes while America used the atomic bombs without warning to Japan about the uses of the new type of bombs which would result in huge massacre of ordinary citizens.

Sep. 4, 2017
08:30 am JST

America used the atomic bombs without warning to Japan

Wrong! America dropped millions of leaflets on potential target cities warning them of the strength of the bomb and the pending attack. There were also continuous radio broadcasts warning Japanese citizens.

Sep. 4, 2017
08:45 am JST

sensei258

Did America warn about the uses of the nukes to Japanese government? I don't think Japanese citizens could do anything to their government even if they read leaflets or listened to the broadcasting. Well, we are discussing here about North Korea and it is not my purpose to denounce America. I just wanted to state different views.

Sep. 4, 2017
09:09 am JST

SchopenhauerToday 08:03 am JST

OssanAmerica

Your comment sounds hypocritical to me. North Korea is threatening or warning about the uses of the nukes while America used the atomic bombs without warning to Japan about the uses of the new type of bombs which would result in huge massacre of ordinary citizens.

You are mixing up WWII, 70 years ago when the U.S. was the ONLY country to possess A-bombs. Numerous nations have become nuclear powers since then, and of course neither China (PRC) nor DPRK even existed at the end of WWII.

Sep. 4, 2017
09:46 am JST

Other nations do not constantly talk about firing a nuclear missile at another country.

really?

Donald Trump warned that the US is ready to use all range of options at its disposal, including “nuclear.”

The nuclear weapons tests of the United States were performed between 1945 and 1992 as part of the nucleararms race. The United States conducted around 1,054 nuclear tests by official count, including 216 atmospheric, underwater, and space tests.

B61-12 gravity bombs...The second qualification flight test for the nuclear weapon was carried out by the NNSA and the US Air Force, with the first one having been successfully conducted in March 2017.

Sep. 4, 2017
10:11 am JST

Seems like KJU in this day and age is warning citizens and governments that powerful armament is in his possession. Dropping leaflets doesn't justify anything. If the US says we warned you Japan. NK is doing the same

Walk away. Everyone lower the rhetoric and just walk away. The UN is toothless to begin with anyway.

Sep. 4, 2017
10:17 am JST

Goodlucktoyou

As much as I don't like Trump and his tweets sure don't help, but there is a big difference between saying there are options at your disposal, and constantly promising destruction and ashes, releasing 1995 quality VFX movies showing missiles and bomb explosions agains various nations around the world.

NK is a dictatorship with limited rations, resources and almost no freedom of information, that takes the money it has been given for humanitarian reasons and uses it for its military.

I genuinely don't think there is any real desire to have NK government or leader change, and they would be left to their own, possibly eventually gaining some economic success if they would actually consider being a reasonable member of the international community. The path they are on now puts us all at risk.

China simply doesn't want a US ally on its boarder, similar to Russia, but a nuclear equipped rouge state I believe means shortly both China and Russia will take action too.

China simply needs to say, we will annul and disregard their collective defense treaty with NK if they don't stop the nuclear and missile tests, that would change things instantly.

Sep. 4, 2017
10:28 am JST

There is also some talk that this most recent test was to coincide with a BRICS meeting in China rather than as a warning to the US and it's allies... and that China is quite upset about this. KJU seems to be doing everything in his power to upset everyone he possibly can. There is probably still something big planned for the 9th. China needs to stand up.

Sep. 4, 2017
10:34 am JST

@nz2011. NK and America are both the problem. we will all be the victims. with two crazy countries threatening each other who knows what would happen? WWI was started by one bullet...The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914.

I'm OK, i have a bomb shelter and provisions, but my family, neighbours and friends??? but if you are from NZ you can always run away...

Sep. 4, 2017
10:45 am JST

Shinzo Abe should seek a cure for his profound and severe category 'Stockholm Syndrome ' .

Stop following the Amerikano colonizers who are keen to demonize NK even though that country never invaded and colonized Japan, Okinawa, Afghanistan, Iraq , Libya and Panama.

Shinzo's constant barking at the cornered lone wolf wound someday get his hand bitten and Nippon will not even know the real reason why.

No matter how Washington demonizes Pyongyang , Tokyo should now face reality that NK is now a nuclear state and Abe should be careful not to make a country that history says haven't nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki be forced to do it at Shinzo's own incessant prodding!

Sep. 4, 2017
11:51 am JST

Sep. 4, 2017
12:11 pm JST

@goodlucktoyou.

I'm not running anywhere unless there is no choice, I own a home here, work here, have an extended family.. and don't really have anywhere to go in NZ.

I don't want anything to happen, but think its got to be clearly stated that the reason for this aggression, while admittedly the Orange man isn't helping, is the dictator state trying to threaten anyone who looks at them funny with nuclear annihilation.

Sep. 4, 2017
12:33 pm JST

Sep. 4, 2017
12:35 pm JST

NK could have attacked the South or Japan a long time ago. Their focus was always the USA, how does that feel?

Irrelevant. The US could have attacked NK years ago, long before the corpulent one got hold of his fireworks. It didn't - which refutes the argument that NK needs nukes to keep 'Amerikano colonizers' (sic) at bay.

Sep. 4, 2017
12:35 pm JST

I've believed US has contributed to the peace of world and protection of human right in other countries but it is not easy to cast out doubts US could also be a big threat to the peace of world. NK might be sounding belligerent and 'challenging' but they didn't invade other countries in a full scale at least. Who is talking about being morality?

Sep. 4, 2017
12:37 pm JST

I don't like Abe, but I like this statement because it satisfies the obvious need for him to say something without him saying anything of actual meaning that might ramp up tensions further.

Trump accusing SK of "appeasement", and claiming that NK "only understand one thing" and the test is an "embarrassment" to China will only increase tension in the region. Even if that is what he thinks, we gain nothing from the information being public. We do not need national security on Twitter.

Sep. 4, 2017
12:40 pm JST

Sep. 4, 2017
12:47 pm JST

Trump accusing SK of "appeasement", and claiming that NK "only understand one thing" and the test is an "embarrassment" to China will only increase tension in the region.

Okay, I raise you one North Korean quote:

In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists’ invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes

Sep. 4, 2017
01:09 pm JST

Sep. 4, 2017
01:15 pm JST

"K.J."understood the fate of him will doomed the same like Saddam or Gaddaffi if he gave up his nuclear button. And if Japan believes striking North Korea is an option to survive that was really underestimated his madness!

Sep. 4, 2017
02:10 pm JST

Sep. 4, 2017
02:49 pm JST

Schopen

This isn't the 1950s. You'd think humans would have learned that nuclear weapons should never be an option but I suppose after 70 years, many forget the potential horrors. Having said that, Japan and South Korea should not have to put up with such belligerent behavior from a nearby country. It seems that NK will end up pushing too far and the US will try to destroy NK's launch sites because neither Kim nor Trump will back down.

Sep. 4, 2017
03:26 pm JST

North Korea's ultimate aim is not War... they want to monetize their Nuclear Weapons and Missile capability by EXTORTING CASH or Gold from the USA and Japan and even then you won't get them to give up their nukes and missiles, you'll just get a reprieve from them threatening to blow everybody up with them.

Sep. 4, 2017
04:03 pm JST

Sep. 4, 2017
04:21 pm JST

Its sure getting worrying..

Each test, missile launch NK conducts is testing the restraint of South Korea and the States to breaking point, and pushing China away.. NK is backing themselves into a corner that the NK leadership will have no good way out of..

Sep. 5, 2017
05:06 am JST

North Korea's ultimate aim is not War... they want to monetize their Nuclear Weapons and Missile capability by EXTORTING CASH or Gold from the USA and Japan and even then you won't get them to give up their nukes and missiles, you'll just get a reprieve from them threatening to blow everybody up with them.

Actually, North Korea's ultimate aim is unification of the Korean Peninsula under North Korea's ideological philosophy and recognition as the sole legitimate Korean State.

All these nuclear and missile tests and threats of "imminent destruction" by North Korea are aimed at scaring "world opinion" to force the UN, US, and Japan leadership to the negotiation tables in appeasement to Pyongyang terms to negotiate a "peace treaty" to replace the current armistice, withdrawal of U.S. military from the north-east Asia region, surrender of South Korea and unification of the two Koreas under North Korean regime or government favorable to China.

International actions, in the forms of sanctions or embargoes continue to be ineffective as North Korea, with the aid of China, always manages to get around these sanctions. Sanctions against China will not hold either.

The U.S. and international community will not take military action and risk death of millions of people. The "will of the people" will not allow their leaders to take that path. (I predict Abe and Trump will not be reelected, instead a more pacifist and appeasement leadership will be elected instead.)

Sooner or later, "world opinion" desperate to avoid total war, nuclear destruction and millions of deaths, will force the UN, US and Japan leaders to appease North Korea, go to Pyongyang to talk "peace".

In the end, China will have a stronger unified Korea ally to help further its ambitions to dominate the entire Asia region. That is the ultimate goal of China.

(I don't like this most likely outcome, but I call it as I see it, and am dismayed at how influential the leftwing communist-sympathizing, anti-US and pacifist appeasement sentiments have become over the past 70 years. Had the US "nipped the North Korea and China problem in the bud" when it had the power and the political will to do so in 1950, the situation today would be very different.)